Arrow - An AU Twist
by summoner2100
Summary: In an alternate timeline, Oliver wasn't the one to become trapped on an island for five years.
1. Rescue

**To be honest, I'm not sure where this story will go at this stage. It was kind of a spur of the moment writing, and a plot bunny that wouldn't go away.**

**I present to you the first chapter of an alternate universe story in which Felicity Smoak was the one trapped on the island for five years instead of Oliver. I will attempt to present it in a similar fashion to the show so it may turn out a little strange in text format.**

**NB: This has not been beta read at this stage, apologies for mistakes. **

**NB: I apologise in advance for anything bad with the Chinese speech parts. It was taken from google translate.**

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Branches crack under her feet as she runs; the ragged hood she wears only barely staying on her head. The small bow slung across her back slipped into a section of exposed skin at her shoulder and began to slice. She didn't care, the only thought in her head was leaving this place. Pushing off the ground, she all but jumps atop the rocky platform at the top of the hill. Without hesitation, she reaches, and whips the weapon strapped to her back free and grabs one of the few remaining arrows from the quiver. Calming herself, she pulls back on the string, aims, and releases.

The small projectile flies through the air and strikes a pile of dried wood stacked on the nearby beach. Upon impact the pouch attached to the front of the missile sparks. The stack explodes in a blaze of fire.

"Kàn, nà biān" exclaimed a man from his vantage point aboard a nearby fishing vessel. Dropping what he was doing to point in the direction of the new bonfire that had appeared on the nearby beach.

He called out to another man at the controls of the ship to head over there, "Ràng wǒmen gèng jiējìn"

It was only a few minutes to bring the ship closer, but they had to take the dinghy to get all the way to the beach—long enough for the archer to sprint back through the trees to the black sand of the beach. She made it there as the fishing crew walked up the beach. The men seemed surprised to see anyone here as she stepped towards them and pushed the green hood off her head. Some of her long blonde hair fell to the side of her face, and she stared at the men through black frame glasses that had have been repaired more than once by tree sap, and faded tape.

My name is Felicity Smoak. For five years I've been stuck on a hellish island with only one goal; survive. Now I must face the world knowing a secret that is not mine. To right the wrongs that I know, I must become something else, I must become someone else.

1 month later

It took a month for the fishing vessel to reach Starling City, but to Felicity it felt like nothing compared to the island. The ship pulled into port in the city to a flurry of media and cameras. She knew the men who rescued her had radioed ahead. It was to be expected. She wondered if the media knew how she got trapped on the island in the first place. One of the crew slid the metal ramp out the side of the ship as she made her way out of the cabin they had let her use. The sound of metal scraping against metal didn't even make her flinch; although she was amused looking over the side to a few of the media personnel wincing over it. Walking down the ramp, they began to yell questions over the top of each other; rushing to get there question in first.

One voice stood out above the rest as he mentioned flight 836. "Someone knows who she was" she thought to herself. She decided it didn't matter. It would have come out eventually anyway. Confidently, she stepped forward. Her back straight.

"Was there anyone else to survive the crash?" A reporter's voice cried above the rest. A silence fell before the crowd as she paused to answer, "No." She stated plainly without going into any further detail.

"How did you manage to survive this whole time?" Came the next question from the crowd. Before she could respond, a black suited man stepped forward to intervene, "I believe any further questions can wait until Ms Smoak has been checked out by a medical technician." The man turned towards her, "Ms Smoak," He started in, "I've been sent by Mr Queen. He would like to have a word with you about the crash," He paused briefly and added to his statement, "After you've been checked over by Mr Queen's personal doctor, of course." A small smile pierced the corner of his mouth and he gestured towards a black town car parked behind the crowd.

Felicity didn't have to think about it for long. Anything to get away from the awkwardness of the questions she didn't feel like answering right now; even if she was going to get questioned by someone else.

"Very well" She told the man, "I've got a few questions of my own for Mr Queen anyway."

The pair of them made their way through the crowd, occasionally with the man pushing his arm out to stop one of the press from attempting to get in there way. They reached the town car, and the driver was already holding a door open for them. The two of them climbed in the back, while the driver closed the door. They pulled away from the crowd of press and onto the main street. Felicity stared out the blackened window as they drove; checking out the city that she barely knew anymore.


	2. Meeting

**A/N: Ok, so I know this has been AGES since the first chapter. Initially I was waiting for something on the show that I needed for later chapters,**

**and then other life stuff got in the way. I hope this will be posted quicker for the next ones, and aim to have chapter 3 before the end of February ('15).**

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It was quieter than she anticipated when the car finally pulled into the entry way of the Queen Consolidated building. She had expected a similar scene to the docks; cameras, lights and questions being thrown at her in rapid succession. She was glad for the peace. The brakes on the black town car squealed slightly as it pulled to a stop at the main door. He silent companion opened the door, and stepped out. Felicity slid across the back seat and set her feet against the path. She felt the brief wind gust, as she stepped away, of the door being pushed closed.

"This way, Ms Smoak," The man told, leading the way through the revolving doors at the front and into the building. She heard the familiar whine of the engine as the car pulled away, but didn't look and continued onward behind her escort.

"Don't speak much, do you?" She said questioningly, which had been only the second thing said between them since meeting at the dock and being driven away in the town car.

"Only when I need too," Came the reply without turning and keeping pace with where he was heading.

Shrugging, Felicity continued walking behind as he lead to them to the bank of elevators at the far side of the lobby. She hadn't minded the quiet trip in the car, even preferred it. The thought of which made her smirk because before the island she knew that she would have probably said something stupid, and put her foot in her mouth. She pushed the smirk away as she drew nearer to the elevators.

"_Before the island,"_ she thought. It seemed so long ago now. So much longer than five years.

The _ding_ of the elevator arriving at the lobby attracted her attention, and pulled her back to her present situation. She stepped forward and followed her companion on. Reaching out, the man pressed for the top floor, the doors closed, and the elevator began to move. It moved fast, and she felt a tingle in her ear as the pressure shift hit it. She rubbed at the lobe which seemed to relieve the effect a little. The elevator slid to a stop, and the doors slid open. The two stepped out onto the patterned marble floor of the penthouse office. Glass walls were positioned around the room. At the far corner stood a man beside a desk looking through the window onto the city. His lips were moving, but from her position she couldn't hear what was being said. Felicity recognized Oliver Queen from the numerous tabloid photo shots as the cities 'party boy' from before she had left, but he looked different. She mentally guessed it was having to grow up after the loss of his father on her plane. Her mind ticked as they walked towards the office, wondering how much he had changed. She suddenly wondered if she could trust him; even being Mr Queen's son. She didn't know what he had been involved with after the plane crash; neither did his father. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as they entered the main office.

"That's actually what we want to end up doing," She heard Oliver say over the phone as they stepped in the room, "The glades need to have the same representative standard as the rest of Starling City," He finished the conversation with a nod before reaching up, pressing a button on the ear piece and placing it against the glass of the desk.

"Miss Smoak," He said turning to her, and brushing his palms down the front corners of his jacket before slipping them into his trouser pockets, "I'm very glad that Mr Diggle here could convince you to come to the office," He nodded to the man who had escorted her, who turned and stepped back out of the room.

"I figured that you wanted to ask about your father," Felicity replied as she stepped to the large windows to look out over the city. The skyline looked mostly as Felicity remembered, but it felt different. She wondered if it had always been this way, and now she was just looking at it with new information.

"Did he make it to the island as well?" Oliver asked, cutting into her thought process.

Felicity shook her head, "No," It wasn't really a lie, his father hadn't made it to the island. Only to the life raft. But even saying that wouldn't change what had happened.

"I see," Oliver stated, his tone of voice dropping at the realization of his father dying, "I guess it was too much to hope for anyone else. Although, I guess anyone else would have been rescued at the same time as yourself,"

She felt like he was insinuating something, but she ignored it, "Your father did mention you before he died," She said turning away from the glass to face him, "He hoped that it would be you to take over the company. He seemed to have a lot of faith in you to do what's right,"

"Not before he left," Oliver added with a silent sigh, "I wasn't exactly a respectable person before he left, and…" He paused as he looked up at Felicity, "Well, I'm sure you know what I was from the tabloids at the time,"

She stepped towards him, and he looked up, "We all have moments that change the way we are," She said looking directly into his eyes, "Moments like your fathers sudden disappearance couldn't have been easy, but you look like you changed for the better,"

"I hope I've continued the business in the way he would have wanted."

He straightened himself up, to stand tall, and slightly above her stature, "Well, thank you Miss Smoak, "He began, "I'm glad that you made it out of what I'm sure must have been an ordeal. Mr Diggle will be waiting downstairs. He has orders to take you to see my personal physician for a checkup before taking you home,"

"I'm fin…" She started to say before Oliver interrupted, "Please Miss Smoak. It's just a checkup. Purely a precaution,"

Felicity nodded, and began to walk from the office. She was stopped at the door by Oliver's voice, "Did you know, Miss Smoak. That we were supposed to go on a boat cruise that day? My father and I," He stated turning to look back at her as he reached the side of the desk, "I wonder how it would have gone if I hadn't made an excuse not to,"

"Knowing you, Mr Queen," She began turning back to him, "If you and you're father had gone missing, there would have been a media circus when you returned," She smiled and walked out of the office. Oliver stood for a moment, hands in pockets, watching her as she reached the elevator. He stepped back behind the desk as she disappeared into the small compartment and the doors slid shut. Oliver sat at his desk, bringing up a sectional image of Starling City overlaid with blueprints of newer buildings. The title of 'The Glades' emblazoned the top right corner of the screen. He leaned back in his chair, the framework of the chair squeaking as his weight pressed into it, and he tapped the button on his earpiece.

As she sped towards the lobby in the elevator car, Felicity ran through what had happened in her mind, and her impressions of the meeting. She wondered whether she should have mentioned his father's secret, or more about what really happened that day, but she pushed it away as the doors slid open. She stepped out onto the marbled floor, and could see Mr Diggle waiting at the entrance. She contemplated ducking away. _After all, what would they do about it?_ She thought to herself. Pacing forward she decided to go with her temporary security guard. She didn't see what it could hurt to get checked up. It might even give her a reason to stay closer to Mr Queen, and decide whether she could actually trust him with what she knew. Felicity walked past Mr Diggle and out to the waiting car that was now parked out front. She wondered if the driver had just driven around the block while they were inside.


	3. Reunion

**A/N:** Well, at least this one is up in shorter time than the last one took =P

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Her muscles involuntarily contracted as the nurse inserted the needle into her arm. The young man clicked the tube into position and it began to fill with her blood. A few seconds later it was full, and he detached it while swapping a second one in before removing the needle from her skin and placed a small cotton pad over the wound; which she placed two fingers against as he took the vials away.

"We're almost through here," He called back, turning his head before passing into the corridor.

Felicity looked around the room. Pretty standard medical room, she had been in enough of them. One small window looked to the outside, but all she could see was the brick walls of the buildings across the road. A low rumble came from above as an aircraft of some sort flew overhead. _Most likely it was circling around towards the runway._ She thought, recalling her past trips from Starling City's airport. She closed her eyes as the memory washed over her.

_Welcome aboard Flight 418 to France. _ Came the announcement over the loudspeaker as Felicity positioned herself in to her seat in business class. She was just sliding her laptop under the seat when an older man approached her side, "How's the upgrade?" He asked smiling in his light grey, striped, suit. The young woman smiled back, "its fine, Mr Queen. Thank you," She replied, smiling, "But you didn't have to, really,"

"Can't have one of my employees flying coach while I'm here, can I?" He said, and smiled again.

"To be honest, Sir," She said timidly, "I wasn't even sure you knew me. You didn't exactly spend a lot of time on the IT floor,"

"I know more than you think, "He said, "Particularly when it comes to who's working for me,"

Mr Queen smiled again, and Felicity turned to see Sara sliding into the seat next to her, "Mr Queen was just asking how the seats were," She said to her friend while Sara sat and buckled up.

"They're fine, Mr Queen," Sara said back, "and a couple of the stewards aren't bad either," She said whispering the last part to Felicity with a nudge.

"Well, you girls let the attendants know if you want anything," He began to walk back down the aisle, and turned, "and if I don't see you before we land, have a good time in Paris,"

Mr Queen left and walked down the aisle to his seat. The two girls smiled at each other, "Can you believe we're in first class?" Felicity said, glancing around the cabin."

"It's not always all it's cracked up to be," Sara replied, smirking.

Felicity's nose scrunched as she smirked, "That's right, you're used to this going out with Oliver,"

"It was once," She stated firmly then laughed, "Although, it's not like I wouldn't have liked it to be more,"

The two girls laughed, and Felicity raised her hand to push the call button above their heads.

"She has numerous scars across the majority of her body, as well as a lot of fractures that haven't healed properly, "The doctor said to the blonde woman as Felicity stared through the window in the other room, "The psychological tests indicate that she has undergone a lot of trauma, and spending as much time alone on that island as she did…"

"What are you saying?"

"I think you should prepare yourself, Mrs Smoak," He added, "The daughter you knew might not be the same one who returned from that island."

Mrs Smoak turned from the doctor to look through the glass at the daughter who had been returned to her. _This was her daughter,_ She thought, as much as she had been through she was still the girl that she knew. She was sure. The woman pushed the door open, and entered the room. Felicity turned, realising someone had entered and broken her from her thoughts.

Mrs Smoak let out a small scream as she entered the room, showing all the excitement of seeing her daughter again, and pushing aside the thoughts that the doctor had mentioned. She moved straight over and wrapped her arms around the girl; hugging her as if she might disappear again.

Felicity pulled her arms up around the woman who felt like a stranger after so long, but still felt familiar. After the embrace, which lasted longer than the girl had thought it would, they both stepped back, "It's good to see you, Mom," She said broaching a smile.

"I'm so happy to have my girl back home," She said beaming a smile so big that Felicity thought it might blind her if she looked for too long,"

"Doctor?" She asked, "Can I take my girl home now?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes. We're finished with the tests for now. I don't see any reason that you need to stay,"

"Your house is just the way you left it," Her mother said as the two of them began to walk out of the room, "I couldn't bare to get rid of it. I always hoped that you would find your way back,"

"How did you afford to do that?" Felicity asked, confused."

"Don't you worry about that, "She replied, "Just know that your home is the way you left it,"

"Mom, "Felicity stated sternly as they entered the hallway of the hospital, "How did you pay for the house?"

"Fine," The woman replied, "Mr Queen helped,, but he said not to say anything, so you can't tell him I said so,"

Felicity glared as they walked down the hallway and towards the exit, "We don't need to take anything from the Queen family, Mom. Ever."

"But why?" The woman asked from two steps behind because Felicity had increased her pace, "Mr Queen has been so nice about everything,"

"I'm not going to explain everything right now, Mom," She answered, "Just be sure that we don't need anything from the Queen family,"

The house was exactly as Felicity remembered it as they pulled up outside. They stepped out of the cab they had hailed after sending Mr Queen's driver, and car away. Mrs Smoak slipped the driver a few bills for the fare and he pulled away from the curb. The two of them approached the house; Her Mom went first and pulled the keys from the bag slung across her shoulder to open the door.

It was quiet as they stepped in the house. Again Felicity felt that familiar feeling but also a strangeness in the air. She wondered if it was because the house represented who she used to be. The tv in the living room, a purple exercise mat rolled up in one corner. The memory of trying to do the training on that almost made her laugh; especially given what she had done on the island.

_Everything in here is part of the old me,_ She thought to herself as she walked around the small living room. Her mother walked into the adjoining kitchen and pulled some glasses out of the cupboard.

"How about a drink," She asked enthusiastically, "To celebrate your return home,"

"I'm a little tired," Felicity replied, sitting on a stool beside the counter.

Her Mom held a glass up, "Just one?" She asked with a smile putting the bottle of wine on the counter, and picking up the other glass, "Then I'll let you sleep and come back tomorrow,"

Fine, "She said taking the wine from her hand and taking a sip.

Mrs Smoak shifted around the side of the counter, and next to her daughter with a smile holding her glass in one hand, "The Smoak women, back together," She stated and clinked her glass against Felicity's while wrapping one hand in a half hug around her. She let go and slid over to the sofa and relaxed into it. Her daughter took another sip from the glass, but stayed seated against the kitchen bench, "I think this is going straight to my head," She joked and smiled tilting the wine towards her mother to show what she was meaning. Her mother smiled, "You always were a cheap drunk," She laughed and placed her drink on the coffee table, "Ok, I'll let you get some sleep and be back in the morning,"

Felicity put her wine on the counter, and stood up, "No, Stay here," She said moving towards her, "Stay in the spare room. If it's not made up, there should be sheets in the hall cupboard,"

"Are you sure?" She asked back, "I don't want to push too much on your first day back in the world,"

"I'm sure," Felicity replied walking towards the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway, "It will be nice knowing that someone else is close by," A smile broke on her face before she turned back and entered through to the bedroom. She pushed the door shut behind her. Mrs Smoak slid back down against the sofa with a smile.


	4. Laurel

A/N: Sorry, I seem to be taking ages with chapters of this story. My life is not exactly great for writing at this stage. I will not leave this story though, I actually like it, and where it's going. I will try to put more up sooner than I have been, and also to make them similar length to this one.

Thanks for reading.

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It was still dark when Felicity's mom woke from sleep to the sound of the pounding rain on the tin roof. For a moment she lay there listening to it. As she closed her eyes a loud shuffling noise arose from the bedroom where her daughter was sleeping. Pushing the blankets off her, she stood and walked to the door.

"Felicity, Honey," She called out softly with a gentle tap on the wood with her knuckle. The woman pushed the door and entered the room. On the bed, her daughter was shifting from side to side in an obvious state of unconscious anxiety. She approached the edge of the bed, stepping quietly across the floor in her socks, "Honey, Its ok. You're home now," She said gently as she neared the edge of the bed, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

The unconscious girl jerked awake at her touch, and without thinking grabbed the woman around the neck, flipping around to pull her mother off the floor and onto the bed. Her eyes snapped open, and she released her hand to let her mother up. Felicity turned and stood on the carpeted floor. She wiped her pajama sleeve across her brow that was glistening with sweat.

"I'm sorry, Mom," She said to the woman who got back up off the bed, and rubbed gently at the slight redness now on her neck.

"Don't apologise, Honey," She replied stepping towards her ad placing a hand against her shoulder a little gingerly as if she was still nervous about the touch, "You've been through a lot, and you can't expect to be used to being back here so soon."

Felicity pulled her hand up to her shoulder, and placed it on top of her mother's before turning, "I know, but I'm still sorry, Mom. Maybe you should go,"

"I'm not going anywhere," The older woman said smiling, and pulled her in for a hug before releasing, "No try and get some more sleep." She gestured back towards the bed, and Felicity got in and rolled onto her side to face away from her mother feeling a little bit of shame for what she had just done. Her mother sat on the corner beside her, and ran her hand through Felicity's hair, "Go to sleep, baby girl. Everything will be ok," She told her gently as her daughter closed her eyes.

The sunlight was what woke Felicity next. It streamed through the crack in the slightly flimsy curtains straight onto her face. She shifted her body across the bed and pushed herself onto the soft carpeted floor. Momentarily taken aback by the feel of the material it took a second or two to realise she was home. Felicity pulled some clothes out of the wardrobe, nothing fancy, tracksuit pants and a T-shirt, and threw them on before walking across to the door. In the small kitchen her Mom, who was trying to be quiet by clattering pans around, looked up at her and smiled.

"Oh, good. You're up," She said pushing a plate across the counter as her daughter approached, "I thought the pancakes might get cold."

Felicity glanced down at the plate of what appeared to be half burnt pancakes, then up at her mother, "Since when do you cook?" she asked with a smirk.

"Hey," Her mother replied, "I can cook," She let a pause fill the moment before ending with, "I just choose not to most of the time,"

"Sure. I'm sure this will be fine with a bit of syrup," Felicity told her poking at the pancakes with the fork that had been placed on top. Her mother shaking her head with a smile.

"I can't anyway," She said placing the fork back against the plate, "I have some things to get done this morning. Some things that I need to get out of the way,"

"But you need to eat something."

Felicity shifted around the corner, and pecked her mom with a kiss on the cheek, "I will… later."

As she stepped outside her thoughts once again jumped on whether she was going to include Oliver Queen in what she knew about his family's company. She wasn't sure yet if she could trust him; despite that fact that his father wanted him to know. _It wasn't something she had to decide right now_, She thought as she walked along the footpath. Felicity had barely made it one block along the street when a car began to honk its' horn. She turned to see a blue, beat up looking Honda sedan pull up to her. The driver was beaming as he pulled to a stop.

"SMOAKY," He called out through the wound down passenger window. She smiled as the tall man stopped the car and hopped out. He was parked in non-parking section but he didn't seem to mind as he approached and threw his arms around her in a hug; she returned the greeting.

"Hey, Billy goat," She said jokingly, as he let go of her. He grimaced at her which quickly flipped into a smile. She knew he hated that name but she had used it since they were kids and he had torn his pants getting chased over a fence by a goat during camp.

"You come back from the dead, and the first thing you do isn't to call up your best friend?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, "Where ya walking to? Get in,"

Billy gestured towards the now open door of his car. She thought about it for a second and what she had planned for the day, then decided it couldn't hurt for a ride. Felicity climbed in the passenger seat and her friend ran around to jump behind the wheel. He turned the key and the engine made a clicking sound. Another try, more ticking.

"I see you still haven't fixed that starter," She sniggered.

"Hey, give it a minute," He replied with slight indignation, "Some of us don't have the Queen family money to keep our stuff sorted."

Felicity shot him a look of anger briefly before she realized he was being his usual smarmy self, "It's not like I asked Mr. Queen to help out. I've already told mom that we don't need his money. We never needed his money,"

The engine roared to life with a slight clunk as she finished. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it," He said then turned his gaze back to the road and pulled away from the curb, "What exactly happened to you on that island, Smoaky?"

"You don't want to know,"

Billy continued driving, turning into the main street in silence, "You'll tell me some day. Can't keep secrets from old billy goat," He said laughing, which in turn made her laugh at the sound of him using a name he hated.

They pulled up to an intersection and stopped to give way to a set of cars that drove through the cross street. Across at the far corner a man and woman dressed in jeans, and thick puffer jackets, openly assaulted a man walking near them and ran off with a back pack. She watched, focusing on their description, and look as Billy spoke up, "This city's gone to hell. Can't even walk down the street in broad daylight anymore. So where are we going now?"

"Laurel," Felicity stated bluntly.

"If you're determined to stay in the depressing place that you're in, then fine," Billy replied and pulled through the intersection, "But you know she doesn't blame you for her sister, Smoaky. It was an accident,"

"I blame myself,"

Felicity's thoughts drew her back to that day on the plane as she thought of Sara. The air rushing past her head as they both held onto arms of their seats. The dimmed lights of the cabin as the plane shook around them. A bright light flashed in front of her eyes, which even as a memory made her squint. The wind became stronger around her, and once her eyes could focus again she saw the hole that had been torn out the top side of the plane. Felicity twisted her head to Sara's chair to see her gone, and the seat belt she had been wearing torn away. She gripped the hand rest tighter as if somehow that would help. Looking through the whole, she could see the blue of the ocean as it got closer and realized that the plane had tipped to one side. She wondered if the pilot had begun tilting the plane in an effort to slow them down for a better landing; of whatever use that was going to be.

"Attention passengers, prepare yourselves for an emergency landing," Came the announcement over the speakers from the Captain's strained and anxious voice.

She attempted to glance over her shoulder, and could see a flight attendant nervously gripping her chair in the same way she was. She turned back the other way to see the ocean waves getting ever closer. She heard a crack as the plane's wing hit the water and started to tear away, causing the plane to snap quickly at the wrong angle. The nose of the plane struck the water with the twist and they started to skim the surface from the front before the back of the plane hit the water and tore off from hitting the surface at a sideways angle. The ocean sprayed like a fire hose through the roof opening where Sara had been pulled out.

Ahead of her people were beginning to stand. They approached the airlock door, and pulled the emergency release. The door shot off, and then pushed back against the plane as the waves crashed into it before being dragged along the side. Mr. Queen approached to get her, "Where's Sara?" He yelled through the crashing of waves while attempting to steady himself against a chair back as the plane began to slow. Felicity shook her head. He reached down and broke her seatbelt off by hitting the clip. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her towards the door where the others were. The plane slowed, mostly from the friction of the water.

"We don't have much time," Robert Queen shouted, and an airline steward held a raft out the door. Pulling the rip cord the circular raft inflated and sat on the now calmer surface. Robert helped Felicity into the raft before carefully jumping in himself, followed by the attendant. The last first class passenger, and elderly man started to jump but the plane lurged sideways being pulled under by the one wing still attached and his head struck the doorframe. He fell into the ocean. Robert reached for him and pulled him up. Placing a hand under the man's neck he lowered his head and let the man slip below the waves. Felicity dove forward to catch him, but Robert held her back, "We have to help him," She shouted still attempting to reach the man who was now starting to get out of sight below the waves.

"He's gone, Felicity. He's gone, "Robert told her. She fell back against the raft and pulled herself into a fetal position as they watched the plane slide beneath the water.

Her thoughts snapped back as Billy's car squealed to a stop against the side of the road.

"We're here," Billy stated turning off the engine, "Do you want me to come inside with you?"

She looked at the sign on the nearby wall advertising the small law firm inside before reaching for the door handle, "I'll be fine," She replied and stepped out of the vehicle.

The room inside was busier than she had expected for a small firm. People walked past her at a brisk pace as she moved further into the open layout style office. She spotted Laurel at the end of a row of desks. She was talking with someone and smiling. As Felicity continued moving toward her the other woman stepped away, and Laurel turned in her direction. The smile that had graced her lips before replaced with shock, or surprise, Felicity was sure at that point.

"Hi," She said in greeting as the two got close enough to talk without shouting across the desks. Laurel shifted the file folder under one arm and reached over Felicity with the other in a half hug, "I heard you had returned,"

"I'm just sorry that it couldn't be with your sister,"

She passed off the folder she was holding to a passing colleague, "Let's walk," She said, and the two began to walk outside.

"Is that why you came?" Laurel asked as they walked, "You think I blame you for Sara's death?"

Felicity nodded but only slightly, enough that Laurel saw.

"It was an accident, Felicity. There's nothing you could have done,"

"Maybe," The woman replied, "Or maybe we could have sat in different seats, or taking it a different day, or any number of other small changes,"

Laurel paused in her steps, Felicity followed suite, "It was an accident. It happens. Was I sad about it? Angry? Of course, But I got over it," She told her then paused, "well, ok maybe still getting over it. But it was still an accident, Felicity,"

Felicity shrugged a maybe but gave a smile anyway.

"Ok, I have to get back," Laurel told her and began walking back toward the office, "and tell Billy he still needs a new car," She called out as she walked, but still facing the way she walked. Felicity looked over at the corner where Billy was standing with something in his hand he was eating something he had grabbed from the shop a block away.

"Still some good things about this area," he said taking a bite of what she could now see was a danish, "cars over here," he said gesturing with a head nod toward the alley as he started moving in its direction.


	5. Man in the Hood

"So, did that go how you expected?" Billy asked as they entered the alleyway where the car was parked ahead of them. He shoved the last of the Danish into his mouth as he finished to a disapproving look from his friend before she smirked.

"Pretty much," Came the reply as they neared the vehicle.

The sound of gravel crunching against boots made Felicity swing around on the heel of her trainers. A trio of black clad men crept behind. The man to the right fired his weapon and a dart struck Billy in the neck. She snapped her arm up to stop the dart aimed at her, but it caught her in the neck before as her fingers made contact with the sheath. She felt her legs go weak, and her eyes blurred the face of their attackers as she collapsed to the ground.

She was tied to a chair when she began to open her eyes. Felicity wondered how much time had passed. She didn't feel like it had been long because of the thin stream of sunlight coming through the high window in the factory they appeared to be in. Her eyes focussed to the light, and pushed away at the remaining feelings of the drug she had been shot with. Billy was in another chair across from her, his head draped into his chest and still obviously under the effects of the dart.

"Awake now, are we Miss Smoak?" A man answered seeing her raise her head and starting to walk towards her, "Now it's time for you to answer a few questions,"

The man carried a large gun across his chest, looking at the stock she realised this was not a tranquiliser one this time. These guys, whoever they were, were professionals. A rubber mask covered his face.

"Tell me, Miss Smoak," The man started now standing within arm's reach, "Did Robert Queen also survive the plane?"

Felicity stared at him, not answering. She fidgeted with the hand restraints behind her back. Only slightly so as not to give it away to her capturer.

The man shifted his gun from the shoulder strap, and smacked the butt of it against Felicity's knee. She winced, and gritted her teeth but made no sound.

"Did he say anything to you about his plans?" Came the following question, followed by hit to the other knee. Felicity gritted her teeth, and looked up at the man.

"He did," She stated through bared teeth, "He told me I should plan to kill you,"

The man laughed. Loud and glanced around at his allies standing there watching, "and how are you going to do that tied to a chair?" he said leaning in to face her. Felicity took her moment, she threw a head butt into him knocking the man back. In his first stumble she twisted sideways and pushed off the ground. The legs of the chair knocked him back further before coming back down and smashing the legs off against the ground as it succumbed back to gravity. The twisting motion of the attack shifted her position closer to another attacker, and Felicity swung her, now free from the chair, legs up to tighten around his knees and pulled him off his feet. An extra kick to the face knocked the man into unconsciousness.

She rolled to the side and the back of the chair she had been tied to snapped into two. She snapped her arm around and flung one half of the wood across the room. It smacked into the face of one of the attackers as he attempted to prepare his gun. Felicity sprung forward. She grabbed the man as his friend fired his weapon. The bullets struck his associate that she pulled in front of her. She pulled a combat knife off the man's belt as he fell and threw it into the last man's chest. He fell to the ground. She scanned the room, checking for anyone else that might be hiding. She saw nothing. She moved over to where Billy was sitting; his head still draped against his chest but his eyes were starting to open.

"Billy," She called out as she tapped him against the cheeks, "You ok?"

"I think so," He slurred through the effects of whatever was used to drug them before passing out again.

When he opened his eyes next, he was sitting in a large open spaced office. Billy could make out the recognisable uniforms of the police force as his eyes re-adjusted to waking up again, and he realised where they were. Felicity sat beside him, one leg crossed over the other to face away from him. A shift of his eyes saw Captain Lance sitting opposite them.

"So," He said more questioningly than anything, and obviously continuing from a previous conversation, "Your statement is that a man in a green hood came in, killed all the men, and saved you?" He said sarcastically and direct his attention at Billy, "And you didn't see any of this, I presume?"

With a glance over at Felicity, then back to the Captain, he replied, "No. I guess I was too out of it to see what happened," He replied lifting his hand to rub at his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up properly and clear his mind.

"Right, well I guess there's nothing we need to discuss right now," Lance told the pair while leaning back in his chair. "We'll get an APB put on Robin Hood immediately," He snarked and chucked the file onto a set of plastic trays on his desk marked, _open_.

Felicity pushed her hands into the arms of the wooden chair she had been sitting in, and started towards the door, "Good luck then, Captain," she said to him straight faced, with no visible reaction that he could make out. Billy stood and followed her out through the front door. Lance watched them leave placing his hands behind his head and wondering how he seemed to get stuck with all the weird cases.

"So, what exactly happened in that warehouse, Smoaky?" Billy asked as they exited the station and began to walk down the street as both of them realised that the car was probably still where they left it across the town.

"It's exactly what I told the Captain," Felicity replied stepping up to the corner of the block, "Why, what do you think happened?"

"Well, I don't know. I don't remember much outside of being shot with something that knocked me out,"

"Then what are you worried about?" Felicity asked back, "As I said, someone jumped in while we were tied up and began killing them. Maybe someone from a rival gang," She told him and stepped into the crosswalk as the light changed to the walking man. Billy stepped behind her as they fast paced it across the other side. Checking the traffic again as they reached the other side he saw a tow truck approach the police impound down from their position carrying his car on the back, and he started towards it, "Well, at least we don't have to get back across town," Billy said walking away from Felicity.

"You go ahead," She called back which made him stop in his tracks, "I've got a few things to do over this side. I'll catch up to you later," She replied.

"Are you sure?" He asked, concerned, "Especially after what just happened, are you sure you want to be walking off by yourself?"

"Their gone now. I'll be fine," She replied and continued walking in the direction she had been heading before they stopped.

"Ok, if you're sure," Billy replied, "I'll see you later after I try and get my car out of lock up, which Lance is probably going to try and make me pay lots for,"

"Almost not worth paying for the car then," Felicity joked as she went around the corner.

"oh, ha ha ha," Billy shouted back sarcastically as he lost sight of her, and started moving towards the impound again.

_What I told Lance was correct. _Felicity thought as she walked along the broken pavement of Starling City. _There was someone in a green hood in that warehouse; it just wasn't a man, and they weren't finished yet._

She pondered to herself as she stepped about whether she should be telling Billy the truth, but she wasn't sure if he was ready for it yet. Or was she ready to tell? Felicity wasn't sure of either, so for now she would keep all of it to herself. _Besides_, she told herself silently, _there was still too much to do at this early point. It was too dangerous for anyone else to know._ She wondered briefly who she was trying to convince with that last thought. Did she even have all this figured out? She found herself wondering what Billy would say if she told him, then realised that he would probably find some way of turning it into a joke at first. That was who he was.


	6. Lian Yu

[5 Years earlier – Lian Yu]

The snapping of a branch in the nearby scrub jostled Felicity awake from her sleep; if that's what you could call it. The hastily made bed of branches, leaves, and foliage looked good but hadn't soften the ground at all. She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck as she looked around for what had made the noise. The fire she had built to keep warm over night was now just embers flickering their light against the surrounding rocks.

Felicity couldn't see anything in the bushes as she glanced around. She figured it was an animal looking for their breakfast. The girl realised she was hungry, and she started to wonder what she was going to eat.

It was hard to know how much time had passed by the time she made it down to the water. She trudged through the sand, her makeshift net of a life-jacket, and some tree vines, slung across her shoulder. The woman reached the water's edge, and waded in. Her shoes filled with water, and slapped against her soles as the liquid came up to her knee's. Felicity didn't care. Her mind was pre-occupied on the thought of finding something to eat. She stopped before she was waist deep and pulled the cargo from her shoulder. Placing a vine into her left hand, she threw it with her right. The material skimmed out wide and hit the top of the water. The small stones she placed in the lining slipped it below the water line. She waited.

It took a few pulls on the line, and a couple of re-throws before she felt something pull against it. Felicity pulled the net back gently as the line tried to go the other way. Slowly it came towards her, and her face lit up with the thought of food. She started to picture the taste of juicy fish heated across the fire. She pulled the line again, and the vine pulled the lifejacket end towards her faster than anticipated. She slipped backwards, and fell into the water. Felicity flung her arms in the air, and splashed down as she attempted to stop herself from falling. Her body went under, and she gasped on a mouthful of seawater. It only took a few minutes to right herself in the shallow water, and she pulled the lifejacket net towards her. Picking it out of the water she saw a hole torn through the thin yellow plastic. Felicity sighed, then turned back towards the beach. _No fish today then_. She thought as she waded through the edge of the water. Coming back up on the sand, she threw the ruined net against some rocks; far enough away that it wouldn't be pulled in by the tide in case she found a way to fix it.

_So, I guess fish is off the cards today_, she figured and decided that seeing if she could find something edible in the shrubbery would be her next best idea.

The branches scratched at her skin as she made her way through. Felicity didn't care though; she was too hungry to worry about anything so small. She marched through the forest for what felt like hours. The sun had reached the high point and had begun to fall as she found a stream. Dropping to her knees, Felicity cupped the water and pulled several handfuls to her dry mouth; savouring each gulp. The woman rubbed water across her face, and stood. Looking around, she fixed her mind on any landmarks. She couldn't make out the beach from where she was, but a rock formation stood out nearby. She wondered if deliriousness from lack of food was making her see things because the landmark started looking like a giant eagle. She blinked and the image went away to back to a rock.

_Weird_. She thought and bent down cup one last gulp of water. She suddenly wished she had something to carry some away, but at least she could come back to it. As she bent down, an arrow struck the tree behind her. She glanced over to the arrow, and snapped her gaze in the direction if came from. The glint of metal in the distance made her dive across the stream; landing in a bush at the other side as a second arrow struck the tree; lower this time.

"What the hell is happening?" She shouted out loud to nobody in particular. Felicity attempted to poke her head quickly above the bush she was now lying in. She pulled it back quickly, and another arrow flew across her head into the bush. She scrambled along the ground. The bushes rustled as she moved through them, but she crawled fast enough to get behind a tree and stood to her feet.

She breathed a brief sigh of relief for some hard cover, and glanced around to see where she could go. A path between the shrubs lay off to her left. Felicity decided that the shrub at the other side would take more effort to push through, but would afford her more cover to get away. She made a quick three count, and dove through the bushes towards the beach. An arrow skimmed past her back as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. A branch slammed against her leg as she neared the beach, which made Felicity grimace in pain but she kept moving. Kept running. She tried to shake off the pain in her leg, and began running on the toe of that foot, which made it a bit slower to move, as she was began limping with her sore leg. Felicity reached the sand, and noticed that there was no more cover.

She hoped that she had lost her attacker, but kept half running, half limping, down the sand to the caves she had found earlier. The woman found the entrance, and dived inside. Squinting she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness that was growing as she moved deeper into the rock formation. Felicity saw an opening, and knelt down to climb inside. It wasn't a large hole, but she climbed inside and waited. Only just did she manage to turn herself around to see the entrance. She hoped whoever had started attacking her didn't know about this cave set. Either that or had given up when she had gotten away. She watched the entrance way with half closed eyes, hoping any light wouldn't reflect of them and give her away, as she waited to find out. She guessed she had been waiting about 15 minutes as she watched. A shadow at the entrance began to move as a figure entered the cave.

She watched the slim figure as he stood, waiting at the opening, and blocking any way for Felicity to escape. From the framing of the body, she decided her attacker was a male of short stature. She pondered whether she could take him down when he turned away from her. The man's right arm disappeared into shadow as he reached behind his back. She couldn't see what he was fiddling with, until the flash of bright white light splashed through the cave and she had to turn her head away from the sudden blanket of white. She slowly turned back as the flare flew through the inside of the cave; illuminating the rocks around in flickering light. The burning stick clattered to the rocky ground in front of her, illuminating her location. She attempted to move out of the hole quickly, but the man had stepped behind the flare as it moved, and was now standing directly above her. Felicity shifted onto her back on the rocky ground and raised her hands above her head in surrender. She felt like she stayed in that position for ever as the man, who she could now see better, stood and looked her over; before reaching down and pulling her up by her wrists. She was dragged, stumbling over her feet, back to the beach and into the light where the man let go of her wrists. She dropped to the ground, just barely catching herself before she hit the stone filled sand. Felicity stood. She brushed the dirt and grit from her, now scratched, bloody, hands. Then looked at her attacker.

Before her she saw an older man of some Asian descent with a short goatee that had begun to blend into white growth, "My name's Felicity," She said to the man in attempt to open up a dialog rather than wait for whatever he was going to do, "Why were you chasing me?"

The man shrugged, and began to walk towards the trees.

"Are you just going to leave, after chasing me and trying to kill me?"

The man turned back toward her, and gestured for her to follow. But only once before he began walking again.

Looking confused, Felicity began to follow slowly as she decided that she wanted to know why , more than she was worried about this man. That thought felt strange to her as she followed the man into the trees. After being chased for her life, now she was more curious than she was worried.

—

Felicity figured that it had been an hour before the pair reached what she assumed was the man's camp. Ahead of her sat the fuselage of an old airplane. It looked to her like an old military plane that had crashed here during a war. Bullet holes ran down what remained of the side. The plane wing to the left had an exploded engine. She found herself wondering whether the engine had blown up in the crash, or before. She shook it from her mind telling herself it didn't really matter at this point. Felicity focused on the larger question; who was this man that had chased her?

The woman looked around the remains of the inside as the older man began rummaging around in some boxes. One corner had a makeshift kitchen near the open end of the fuselage. She assumed so the smoke from the open fire pit wouldn't fill the rest of the space. At the other end hung a rope hammock. Beside that, another hammock. Felicity furrowed her brow wondering who used the other bed. Did he set this up for her? _That would be weird. _But the Asian man came up with a bundle of ropes. Chucking it across to her she caught it and realised it was a third hammock.

"How many of these do you have?" She laughed jokingly, and flicked her head to indicate the second hammock.

A scuffle behind her made her turn towards the doorway. Felicity dropped the ball of tangled bedding to the ground. There in front of her stood Sara Lance. Memories of the plane flashed in her head. Sara's fate of being pulled out burned into her thoughts. "How are you here?"


	7. Adam Hunt

[Present Day]

Felicity approached the rusty gate in the warehouse district of Starling City. This section of the city had fallen on hard times since she had been away. Although even before then this part of town was not the best. The buildings were dilapidated. The residents that lived in this corner of Starling either worked their hands to the bone to meek out what little they had, or they ran with the gangs that frequently did business in the area. It wasn't the place someone in Felicity's position usually came. Which made it a perfect position to come.

The woman grabbed the padlock on the gate. Rust started to come off in her hand. It had been years since this had been opened. Pulling bag from her shoulder, she dropped her arm and threw the bag over the top of the metal. It came down with a soft bang as it hit the concrete at the other side. Felicity eyed up the gate. Then the surrounding crates and other items sitting next to it. She pushed off the ground towards the brick wall that gate hung from before grabbing the top railing and throwing herself over.

She came to stop on the other side in a crouched position. She pulled herself up and began walking towards the warehouse; grabbing the handles on her bag as she went. A large, rusty, and off balance sign hung above the building as she approached. The words "Queen Consolidated" hung there faded, a memory of another time.

Inside the building she looked around. The interior had been stripped long ago by scavengers looking for things they could sell. Remnants of beer cans showing that the building had at one point been used to hold drunken parties; probably for the gangs that frequent the Glades. Felicity dropped the bag next to a pile of stone and metal that looked like it used to be part of an old stairwell from the building. Unzipping the bag she reached in and pulled out a sledgehammer and began pounding away at a section of flooring.

She didn't know how long it had been before she finally broke through to the under basement Robert Queen had told her about. She guessed a couple of hours at the least. Dropping down into the hole with her bag, she looked around the dimly lit space. An old rusted table lay in the corner, old and unused. Some stone work lay in piles around the large area, but that was mostly rubble from her breaking through. The rest of the room was sparse.

She pulled the table back to its standing position, and moved her bag on top of it. _This will do nicely_. She thought as she pulled out a small mesh net and an old curved long bow. Releasing the net, Felicity flung it in front of her. Half a dozen tennis balls fell out and bounced down the concrete floor. She calmed her breathing, and brought the sight line of the bow to bear on the first yellow ball. Felicity reached for an arrow from the quiver sticking out of the bag opening. It pierced a tennis ball and sent it flying into the wall. Another arrow, another ball. Calmly, and strategically Felicity pulled the drawstring and fired more arrows into the remaining balls as they bounced; each one striking the far wall.

Felicity placed the bow against the table, but kept a grasp on the grip as she looked at the targets yellow felt pinned to the far wall. From her pocket came a beep. She pulled out a phone and looked at the screen. The time read 5:00pm. She was late. Reaching into the bag once again she pulled out a cloth hood. It was green with fraying edges. She head for the exit.

—

Adam Hunt walked to his car. Three bodyguards flanked his path. Tough men who looked like they had been pulled direct from military service. Directly next to him walked another man in a business suit, his aide, "Remind Mr Gerrick who it was that put him on the bench," Adam Hunt told his attache sharply, "and remind him who can get him taken off," He added finishing with an annoyed tone that sounded like he was annoyed at dealing with this.

"Yes, Sir,"

"And, I thought you were going to do something about this attorney, Laurel Lance," Hunt added stopping in his tracks and turning his attention to the young man who tensed up beside him.

"Yes, Sir. It's in progress, Sir," stammered the young man as Hunt stared him down.

"Then go,"

The attache nodded to his boss, and turned.

Adam Hunt began to move towards his car again. With the first step, an arrow flew past embedded itself in the chest of one of his bodyguards. He ducked, fearing more. The bodyguard to the other side pulled his gun from the holster at his waist before his partner could hit the ground. He fired in the direction.

"Missed me," Came the voice which echoed around the empty parking garage.

A second arrow flew out of a different space. It struck the wind pipe of the second guard. He went down. The third man scanned the area slowly looking for signs of the attacker. An arrow split the skin around the back of his shoulder, and he went down. Adam Hunt dove inside the car as he man went down. A green hooded figure jumped down behind the man. With a sweep of the bow, the man was on the ground. A strike from the heel of the combat boot the attacker brought knocked him out.

Pointing the bow to the ceiling, Felicity fired and a cable pulled her upwards. She landed with a thud against the roof of the car where Adam Hunt was hiding. The door that he hid in was still open. A quick drop to lying position on the car roof allowed Felicity to reach in and grab the cowardly man hiding inside. She pulled his suit. He landed outside the car against the concrete as she pushed herself to a crouch and aimed her bow at him. He raised his hands in defense.

"Wait, wait wait," He pleaded begging for his life and pulling himself to a standing position slowly.

Felicity jumped down to face him. Her hood came down over the top part of her face, as she stood staring towards him, "You have until 10pm tonight to put 4 million dollars in Starling City bank account number 1141,"

"What if I don't?" Hunt said trying to sound tough but Felicity could hear the tremble in the base of his voice as he responded.

"Then I'll take it," She replied sternly, "and you won't like how,"

She turned and began to pace away at a jog. Adam Hunt called back for one last taunt, "Just try and get it,"

Felicity did a quick spin on the heel of boot. She pulled her bow up and fired an arrow towards the scared man. He flinched as the arrow sailed through the air beside him and pierced the back window of his car. The shattering of glass echoed through the car park as Felicity turned and fired a cable arrow into the rafters. She disappeared into the dark leaving Adam Hunt standing amid the bodies of his fallen men.


	8. It Begins

Detective Lance was driving when the call came through the radio about an attack against Adam Hunt. _It's going to be one of those days,_ Lance thought to himself as he glanced behind the car to check traffic, and swung a U-Turn to head towards the incident. He flicked on the siren in his undercover as the vehicle straightened out of the maneuver. It didn't take long to reach Hunt's office building; he knew where it was. Adam Hunt was one of the men in Starling that everyone knew. Lance didn't like him; but then he didn't really like any of the rich, upper class people in the city who thought they could get away with anything with a bit of money. He pressed down on the brakes, and the car stopped outside the large tower offices with a squeal of tires rubbing against the asphalt. A uniform officer stood at the pavement as he stepped out of his car. Lance vaguely remembered meeting him once recently when the man started.

"Everything alright?" Lance asked the young fresh faced officer.

"Under control, Sir," He replied quickly, "The other detective is inside,"

Lance detected a tremor of nervousness in the man's voice. He smiled as he strode past towards the double glass entryway and pushed his way into the building. The lobby of which was decorated in ornate fashion. Hand rails lining stairwells were trimmed with a polished gold colour. The floors were a polished marble that the detective could decided someone could probably eat off if they were so inclined. Lance continued striding through the lobby towards the bank of elevators at the right side; flashing the badge under his coat at the young woman behind the reception desk who just nodded and pointed towards her left.

Lance knew where he was going already in this building. He had been here before dealing with Adam Hunt's problems. The elevator opened up into the hallway at the 45th floor. The same polished marble floors glistened back at him as he made strides towards the set of double ornate glass doors at the far end. He stepped carefully. He didn't want a repeat of last time when he almost slipped on his ass. But he made it to the office without worry.

The sound of a man yelling was the first thing that Quentin heard as he entered the room. His first thought was correct as the voice merged with the image of a well dressed bald man with an angry look on his face ripping into another man, who he recognised as Detective Lucas Hilton. Both the men turned at the sound of the door opening to see Lance walking up.

"I was SHOT at with an arrow, by some lunatic in a green hood," Hunt continued yelling as Lance stepped beside his fellow detective, "I was threatened. What are you going to do about it?" The man asked as he picked an green tipped metal arrow off his desk and thrust it into Lance's face. The detective grasped the arrow with two fingers, so as to minimise any fingerprints for the lab techs to deal with.

"So, I guess we'll put out a bolo on, Robin Hood?" He asked sarcastically, and with a hint of a smile.

The man opposite him was not amused at the joke, "Hey Pal," He shot back, "I'm not some grocer that got taken for his register. I go to the front of the line!"

Hunt walked back, and sat behind his desk. He leaned back in shined leather seat, "He said he would be back at 10pm," He told the two Detectives, "Make sure you're here. You can co-ordinate with my new head of security, Mr Drake,"

The two Detectives turn to look at the gruff face of the hired security. A holster is strapped to his shoulder. The gaze back to the two men seems deadly in itself. Both of the detectives nod, and agree. Then start to walk out towards the elevator.

"So, what?" Hilton began asking as they stepped inside the transport, "Two mentions of a green hooded vigilante in the same week? Co-incidence?". The doors closed and the elevator began moving.

"It might be," Lance responded, "If I believed in co-incidences. Let's just get back here at 10pm and stop whoever this guy is. If he shows," He added. Lance was still skeptical as the two men walked through the lobby of the building. He didn't know what to make of it, but whatever was going on he was going to find out.

—

Felicity awoke early to a knock at the door. It jolted her awake out of the dream she was having, although they were more memories of her time on the island than dreams. She wasn't even sure that she was really home, and that being here in her house wasn't the dream. She reached for the handle, and opened the door. Billy was standing there smiling, his arms behind his back.

"You're not going to guess what we got invited to, Smoaky," He said before she could open her mouth and stepped inside, "Go on, guess."

"Do I have to?" She groaned at her friend who was always too cheery for this time of the morning.

Her non-enthusiastic response did not kill the smile on his face. Billy just feigned disappointment, "Well, fine. But I thought you would like to know how much of a celebrity you are,"

A puzzled look crossed her face, "I don't want to be a celebrity,"

"But you are," He said pulling his hands from behind his back and revealing two slips of paper, "We got VIP tickets to Verdant tonight!"

"I don't know, I have…"

Billy raised a finger in her direction, "Ah, none of that," He said firmly, but still smiling, "We're going. Call it a welcome back party. Come on, Smoaky. It's the hottest club in town… and we're VIP's!" He exclaimed again excitedly.

Felicity sighed thinking about what she had planned tonight, "Fine, "She concluded realising he wasn't going to give this up, "Where is this club anyway?"

"It's over in the central plaza, on third,"

"Ok, I'll go," Felicity replied realising that it was within the same area as Adam Hunt's building anyway, maybe she could do both, "What is this Verdant place anyway? Is it new?"

Her friend flopped down on the couch beside him, his back falling into the corner against the arm rest, "Yeah, opened about a year ago. Quickly became one of the best places to go in Starling. Although, for this city it isn't saying a lot. But it is a blast," he told her ending with confirmation of a good time. "Besides. You're old friend Mr Queen will probably be there," Billy added with a sly grin which made Felicity turn her gaze back.

"Why would he be there?"

"Well he does own the club, Smoaky."

"Of course he does," She replied stifling a groan and moved into the bedroom. Felicity returned a few minutes later with a small duffel bag and proceeded towards the door.

"Where are you going? Want company?" Her friend called out from the couch making a move to sit up.

"Just have a few things to do. Issues with being declared dead and all."

Felicity pulled the door open, "I'll see you the club. This might take a while."

With that she pulled the door behind her and it clicked shut.

It didn't take that long for Felicity to walk to where she was heading. She had seen it nearby when she had gone to see Laurel. If her and Billy hadn't been attacked by those masked thugs she probably would have checked out the old warehouse then. But she got side-tracked. She stopped outside the old rusted gate. Pallets stacked to one side. The old tin walls of the building in the distance had seen better days. Atop the wall, askew from it's proper position, hung the old foundry sign, _Queen Consolidated_ emblazoned on it's worn out frame.

Dropping her shoulder, she slung the duffel bag up into the air. It landed on the ground on the inside of the fence. Felicity jumped on the pallet beside the gate with one foot while grabbing the frame with her hand and spring boarding her to the top. She dropped to the ground, picked up the duffel and walked towards the building.

Inside was as bad as the outside—if not worse. Beams stood bare, rusted with no walls to protect them. The floors, if you could call them that, were almost non-existent. Several large holes meant that no section of flooring on the upper levels remained. Throwing her back down, she got to work setting up the lower section of the foundry. Felicity pulled a sledge hammer from her bag, and began displacing the concrete that was in the way of what she was seeing in her head.

Ropes thrown across beams, tables setup with a laptop and some screens. It was starting to look like a place where she could do her work. Felicity threw a rope and pulled herself to one of the cross beams above. Wrapping her legs over it, and using the rope for added safety, she began a work out of pull ups—upside down. Dropping herself to the ground as she completed her set, Felicity grabbed the metal rod off the table. She stepped over and set the metal pole against two rungs of the high rails she had plunged to the ground earlier. With a jump and a pull, she moved the metal bar up, rung after rung, until she reached the top. One final jump got her to the ground.

An alarm began to beep as she dropped the pole to the ground. Grabbing her watch off the table, she noticed that it was time for her _heroes return_ party. She was weary about going, but it would provide adequate cover for dealing with Adam Hunt later, especially if he didn't pay up. Felicity walked out of the foundry, leaving what she had brought and setup. She knew this would work well for a base of operations.

_Would Adam Hunt give up the money voluntarily?_ She pondered as she walked out towards the gate of the foundry. Her gut was telling her no. But who knows. _After all, this was Robert Queen's mission she had taken on. Adam Hunt is not someone she knew much about beyond what she had read_.

"I guess we'll see." She said out loud to herself after she jumped over the fence and into the main street, looking around to make sure she hadn't been seen. The area was deserted as she walked down the street. But that was hardly surprising to her. Even 5 years ago this part of Starling had been a failed development waiting to happen. Maybe she could help change that. It would all begin with Adam Hunt.


	9. Party and Pay Up

Felicity wasn't really sure she wanted to go as she slipped on a top and some dress pants. Even before the island she hadn't really been that much of a party girl. She'd attended a few. Generally standard college fare, but still hadn't been the party type. This one had the benefit that it was near to where she had to be—even if Mr Queen would be there as well.

Her and Billy arrived at the club to a crowd of people standing outside. As they exited the car that Billy had brought, which he hadn't mentioned until they were almost here was a loan from Oliver Queen, the flash bulbs of reporters almost blinded them. A hundred people attempted to yell at her at once with questions about the island, and her experience. Any detail that they could make into a headline Felicity supposed. They pushed their way through the throng of people to get to the doors where Oliver was standing.

"Very sorry for the welcome, Miss Smoak," He began politely, "We tried to keep your arrival a secret, but being the celebrity you are, word must have got out."

"I'm not a celebrity,"

"I beg to differ, Miss Smoak. You came back from the dead. That's not something that happens to a lot of people. In which case you're the main headline at the moment."

"It is kinda exciting, Smoaky," Billy piped up butting in with a smile.

Oliver Queen smiled at her friend, "Smoaky?" He asked as he pushed the glass door open to the club.

Felicity glared as she walked past, "A nickname," She started, "One that is reserved for few,"

Stepping into the club, Billy followed shrugging his shoulders at Mr Queen as if to say sorry. Oliver simply grinned as he followed them both inside.

The atmosphere inside the club was about what Felicity had expected. Standard club beat music blaring while people danced around and through shots back like they were nothing. She scanned the room. _Not many people I know. Must be friends of the Queen's_. She shrugged to herself figuring it would make it easier for a quick exit and return when she needed to later. Across to the side of the room, Felicity saw a young girl. She recognised her as Oliver's sister. After all, who wouldn't know any of the Queen family. They were always on the news. More so before she had gotten stranded because of Oliver's drunken behaviors. _That at least he seems to have turned around. _She thought to herself while also wondering whether it was because of his father passing and having to take over the business. She noticed Thea Queen's hand slip down her side and swap something with the guy next to her; a small packet of something that Felicity couldn't tell but was obviously illegal. She wondered if Oliver knew what his little sister was getting into.

Felicity excused herself on the mention of getting herself a drink from the bar. She side-stepped as she walked near it and headed over to Thea. She had promised Mr Queen that she would right his wrongs. She may as well try and help his daughter out while she was at it. She doubted that he would want her getting into whatever she was getting into right now. She approached the youngest Queen, bumping into her side.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Too many people in here," Felicity said in a mock apology voice

"That's fine,"

"Wait, you're Thea Queen right? Oliver's sister?" Felicity asked pretending that she didn't know.

"Yeah. I am,"

Thea didn't sound very enthusiastic with the reply, like she wanted to be elsewhere.

"Well, thank you for coming to, what I guess is my welcome back party,"

"That's fine. Any excuse for a party. I have to meet someone," Thea said as she began to step away.

"Me too," Felicity added, "Thanks again."

Thea nodded and the two turned away from each other. Felicity stepped a few steps towards the bar and opened her palm over the trash bin. The small plastic bag that she had pocketed from Thea fell into the receptacle. As she neared the bar, a tall African American man approached her. She flagged the bartender for a drink, and prepared to defend herself or tell him to leave.

"Miss Smoak," He began as he adjusted the front of his suit jacket, "I'm John Diggle. I've been hired by Mr Queen as your bodyguard after he was worried about that unfortunate incident of attempted kidnapping,"

Felicity swallowed the shot that the bartender had left in front of her, "I don't need protection,"

"With all due respect, Miss Smoak. I was paid to look after you, so that's what I'm going to do,"

"Fine," She stated and began to leave. Diggle followed.

"Where are you going?"

"To the little girls room. I don't think you want to follow me in there,"

Diggle followed her to the kitchen area. The bathrooms were off to the side. He stood arms folded beside a tray of food as he fixed his eyes on the door. Felicity went in and came out about 10 minutes later after looking around to see if she could make her way through the toilet windows. They were too small, and locked. Heading through the kitchen, she went to the door that led back to the party. Her new shadow followed her. At the double door, Felicity pulled the handle. The door shook.

"It's locked,"

Diggle smirked, "Won't get me like that, Miss Smoak," He stepped forward to try the door himself. Felicity grabbed his arm and pulled it behind his back while slipping her elbow around his neck. She held until Diggle went drowzy and fell asleep before she slowly let him down to the ground. It was time to go. Checking her phone she saw that the balance on the account that was open was still zero. She knew what to do.

"It's 10pm," Adam Hunt called out around his office. He'll be here soon.

The men in the office prepped their guns, locking the chambers with rounds as they spread out to cover the door way. They didn't have to wait long. The sound of fighting and banging echoed the expensive hallway before one of the hired thugs outside came flying through the glass door. Without hesitation, the men inside fired the weapons. Bullets hit the guy who turned out to be one of their own. Felicity threw the guy she was using as a shield into another guy. Before he could fall to the floor, she twisted and swept her bow towards another knocking him to the ground. Her hand went up and whipped an arrow from the sheath at her back, and she fired it into the chest of a third guy before twirling to hide behind the pillar nearby.

He's here," Adam Hunt yelled into the radio in his hand as he stood behind the desk. Felicity let an arrow fly towards him from behind the pillar. The arrow flew behind him skimming his shoulder and making the radio fall before embedding itself into the wall behind. She came out from behind the column and twisting around knocked another two of the security team out. As one of them fell, he dislodged a grenade from his belt. Felicity kicked it to through the room and into the hallway, diving behind the desk, but it was still to close and the concussive force dazed her. When she came too she could here the sound of the police reaching the stairwell at that floor. She pushed herself up, groaning under the pain from the blast, and headed to the window.

"Freeze," Captain Lance screamed as he entered the room just as Felicity jumped out of the window. Lance and his fellow detective ran to the window in time to see her flying down a cable line to the next building.

"Tell me you saw that?" Detective Hilton said to Lance as they looked at each other unsure of what had just happened.

"Alright, parties over everyone," Captain Lance called out as a dozen officers entered Oliver's club. There were groans from the club goers, as well as cries of 'get out'.

Oliver approached Captain Lance, "What's the problem, Captain?"

"Of course it was your party across here, Mr Queen," Lance stated a bit spitefully, "The Green Hood guy attacked Adam Hunt's office across the road tonight. Know anything about that?"

"Why would I know anything? You think I deal with every business man in Starling?"

"I'm kinda surprised you don't. You seem like the type to get on well with him,"

"How about I help you out, Detective, "He suggested with a smile and turned to the crowd, "A million dollars to anyone who can find a nutbar in a green hood,"

The crowd let out a cheer, and even Felicity entering at the back of the crowd now smiled, _Maybe she had misjudged him. Could she trust him after all?_ She wasn't sure, but this was the first sign that she'd seen that Oliver Queen might be a different man to what she had thought. She would have to watch more closely before she decided.

Felicity walked through the crowd to Oliver, "Well that was interesting," She said with a half grin.

Oliver shrugged, "Detective Lance and I go back a way. I used to date his daughter, Laurel… and then Sara," he added with a pause as if wondering whether he should add it.

"I see," Felicity replied with a smile before adding, "Isn't this supposed to be a party?"

"Absolutely," Oliver raised his arms up to the crowd that had now gone quiet with no music, "Let's get this party going," A cheer came from the people around them and the DJ started the music back up again. The thumping beat faded to a faint hint as it reached what was left of Adam Hunt's office where he was yelling into a cellphone.

"40 MILLION DOLLARS DOESN'T JUST DISAPPEAR. FIND IT." He slammed the phone down on the desk before resting his head into his hands, "How did he do it?" He wondered not noticing the arrow blinking against the wall beside him.

Felicity watched her cellphone screen from a corner of the party as transactions in the thousands filtered through to individual accounts. She had won this time. But her job wasn't over. The list from Robert was long, and she was just getting started.


End file.
